Coming to Little Rhody?

A friend of mine recently left for vacation in Turks & Caicos. You can understand why, since it’s a world-class vacation destination. But there’s really no need to go so far away, according to the American Academy of Hospital Sciences. Yes, that’s right. They’ve published their latest awards, and Rhode Island is now included as a top-notch world-class destination in company with “Egypt, Turks and Caicos, [and] New York City.” Is that a big deal?

“Only 10 destinations in the academy’s history have received this award,” said Mark Brodeur, Rhode Island’s director of tourism, at a posh reception held under the rotunda of the Rhode Island State House Jan. 15 attended by 200 state hospitality and tourism professionals, as well as local and state politicians. “We’re honored to be the first state to get one.”

Call me skeptical, but as much as I love Newport, WaterFire, and Federal Hill, they’re not exactly equivalent to the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and Alexandria. There’s another thing Rhode Island is famous for: graft. I wonder if someone slipped the hospitality people an envelope full of cash. Hey, that’s something worth seeing! Come visit us, and view our monumental corruption!